Author: The Guardian

A US-born woman who posed as an Irish heiress to scam thousands of dollars from several victims has been flown to the UK to face additional charges there.Marianne Smyth is accused of stealing more than $170,000 from five people whom she met through her jobs at UK-based mortgage companies between 2008 and 2010. For years, Smyth feigned being a witch, psychic and friend of A-list celebrities to deceive others into giving her money.Notably, Smyth stole nearly $100,000 from a television producer, Johnathan Walton, who later helped send her to prison and publicized her crimes on a hit podcast.A spokesperson for…

A majority of European countries now believe a negotiated outcome with Russia, rather than an outright military victory in Ukraine, is the most likely outcome, according to a major 15-country poll.Despite the reversal of battlefield conditions, support for the Ukrainian cause across Europe remains strong, but European voters increasingly believe that arming Ukraine is necessary, not to achieve a comprehensive victory on the Ukrainian battlefield, but to enhance Ukraine’s strength in future negotiations with Russia. .The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank conducted a poll of 19,566 people in 15 countries in the first half of May 2024.…

Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and adviser to Donald Trump, has been disbarred in New York for making false statements about the results of the 2020 election.A New York appeals court made the decision on Tuesday.A panel of judges ruled that Giuliani would be “disbarred from the practice of law, effective immediately, and until the further order of this Court, and his name stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law in the State of New York”, the Associated Press reported.The decision comes after Giuliani already had his New York law license suspended for making false…

Tadej Pogacar overtakes the reigning Tour de France champion at the top of stage 4 of the Col de Galibier on the first mountain stage of the 2024 Tour de France (from Pinerolo to Valois) Jonas Vingegaard, victorious.The two rivals clashed again, but this time, Emirates Team leader Pogacar had the upper hand, climbing and descending faster than the Dane, opening up a 35-second lead on the high-speed descent toward the finish line. .With the extra seconds, Pogacar now leads the overall race by 45 seconds over Soudal Quick-Step’s Remco Evenepoel.Whatever work Wismar Racing’s Vengergaard did on the descents during…

Lucy Letby has been found guilty of trying to kill a two-hour-old baby girl on the hospital ward where she murdered seven other infants.The former neonatal nurse, who is serving 14 whole-life prison terms, was convicted on Tuesday of attempting to murder the “extremely premature” infant after a retrial at Manchester crown court.The infant, known as Baby K, was born 15 weeks premature and weighed only 692g (1.52lbs) when Letby was alleged to have tampered with her breathing tube, causing a “life-threatening” deterioration.Letby faced a three-week retrial on the single count of attempted murder, which she denied, after the jury…

Twelve months after etching her name into Wimbledon history, Matata Vondrousova made a different kind of history on Tuesday when she was defeated in the first round by Jessica Bouzas Mane Defeated by Lo, a Spaniard who had never won a Grand Slam match. The Czech was out of form and lost 6-4, 6-2, becoming the first player since Steffi Graf to be defeated by ALori McNeil in 1994. A defending women’s singles champion who lost in the first round. Gave it to Ivo Karlovich.Sixth seed Vondrousova, who withdrew after falling in the warm-up match in Berlin, struggled from the…

Chibuzo, 22 We only touch behind closed doors I have been with Ekele for nine months, but I have never so much as held his hand in public. We live in Lagos, where homosexuality is punishable by up to 14 years in prison, so we only touch behind closed doors. Ekele dares to wear flamboyant clothing when we leave the house together, but I am more cautious. I choose muted outfits, and try to moderate the way I walk so it’s more masculine. If we both look overtly gay, people shout slurs at us in the street.Before I met Ekele,…

Tennis fans are eager to see Andy Murray’s Wimbledon swan song. But when thousands of fans began flocking to SW19 hoping for a chance to see him, they were left disappointed after it was announced he would not be competing in the men’s singles.Particularly enthusiastic were Charles Bowden, 32, and Kelly Ann Ethell, 24, who had been camping out since 2pm the day before to get tickets. “I was heartbroken. I got a ticket to Center Court hoping to see him,” Bowden said.Two-time men’s champion Murray was forced to withdraw from a singles match against Czech Tomas Makhach on Tuesday…

Years ago I was sitting in a cafe before work when an exhausted-looking man and his toddler son came in. A “One cappuccino and one babyccino please” later, they sat at the table next to mine. The boy was a bit snotty and whiny, and I could see his dad was working hard to keep him entertained, to give him the time and attention he needed. And then I saw the moment where that time and attention ran out. The man’s focus slipped away, his hand dropping down to his pocket, his tired eyes sliding across to the screen as…

Andy Murray’s Wimbledon singles career is over after a back injury forced him to withdraw from the men’s draw for the final Championship match in the first round on Tuesday morning.The two-time Wimbledon singles champion was scheduled to face Czech Tomas Mahak on Center Court but was unable to fully recover from back surgery he underwent 10 days ago. But Murray has confirmed that he intends to compete in the men’s doubles this week with his brother Jamie.Murray’s representative said: “Unfortunately, despite Andy’s tremendous efforts in recovery since his surgery over a week ago, he has made the very difficult…